No, this isn’t an advertisement for a local gentlemen’s club, where busty, scantily clad women slide around poles in high heels for the enjoyment of the peanut gallery.

I’m talking about a different kind of pole dancing — where women (and perhaps even men) can get a great workout while improving their sense of self.

Pole Dancing as Exercise

There’s a reason pole dancers in the clubs almost always have great bodies: pole dancing is hard work. If you’re trying, one hour on the pole will burn more calories than one in the gym. Don’t believe me? Imagine having to support your entire weight on one arm or supporting all your upper body weight with clenched abdominal muscles. Regular practice means almost immediate results in the form of great tone and muscle definition where it counts — arms, thighs, abs and buttocks. It’s a full-body workout with just one piece of equipment, the pole, so it’s much less expensive than home gyms and more portable, too.

Because most instructors offer different levels of pole dancing based on expertise and strength, it isn’t a prerequisite that you be toned up — learning to pole dance does that for you. The exercises are fun, so even though it works just as well as an hour on the treadmill, you’ll look forward to the next workout. After years of having pole dancing as a sort of taboo, it is finally becoming a source of empowerment and fun exercise for women. There are lessons everywhere — even in Kansas City, Mo., like Pole Worx on the second floor of 1225 Union Ave. So if you’re interested, there’s no need wait to get involved in what is becoming an increasingly popular pastime.

Pole dancing as competition

Although most pole dancing competitions are still amateur nights at strip clubs, women across the world are working to get pole dancing taken seriously as a sport. After all, it is hard work and requires both skill and training to become a skillful pole dancing artist.

Although there currently are not regional competitions in the United States, there are formal pole dancing pageants in Australia, France, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. There is also a “Miss Pole Dance World” competition, which began in November 2005. These competitions are strictly non-nude and non-stripping, focusing on pole dancing as an aerobic, artistic form of exercise.

Pole dancing as self-affirmation

As cheesy as it sounds, pole dancing gives you confidence — and I don’t just mean the kind in the bedroom. Women across America, from superstars like Teri Hatcher of “Desperate Housewives” to soccer moms, have raved that the sensuality and confidence pole dancing gave them has carried over into the rest of their lives, from interactions with the opposite sex to just feeling like they could finally be themselves.

“It’s not about looking at yourself, it’s about finding confidence in your body,” Hatcher said in an interview on National Nine News.

This confidence all stems from one simple thing: the naughty feeling of erotically swinging around a pole. It promotes good body image, and if a woman feels comfortable in her own skin, she feels comfortable everywhere else.

— Edited by Meghan Murphy